Crisis Ahead: Where’s the Alarm?

I’m going to start by rehashing our current situation. We must do this. We face an existential crisis right now. Let’s face it head-on. The election of Donald Trump ushered in a new era in America. This cannot be denied. But we would be remiss if we focused solely on him.

We face the most hostile political party in American history: the modern “Grand Old Party.” They are neither grand, nor are they old. They have been infiltrated by the Tea Party. For a decade now, they have radically damaged the Republic, transforming American politics.

“Conservatives” are no longer conservative. They’ve been replaced by the Christian Right, by fundamentalists hellbent on the Apocalypse. The NRA, always a nasty bunch, have reached a new fever pitch: practically calling for bloodshed in the streets of America.

We face a militarized police force, which the FBI had been warning for at least a decade, have been infiltrated by white supremacists. Do not make the mistake of believing because you’re white, you’re safe. You are not. Their power is always used in support of the state.

Do not make the mistake of believing that a police force would never turn on its own citizens. History teaches us otherwise. Right now, our Attorney General is expanding private prisons and granting police new rights to confiscate your property. Be concerned.

Dozens of states have passed anti-protest laws, or they’re actively working to do so. Dissent will not be tolerated by this government.

The cabinet assembled by this president is made up of billionaires who are actively working to dismantle the very departments they lead. Six months in, thousands of positions remain unfilled throughout the federal government: positions no one has been nominated to fill.

For at least a decade, the Republican Party has been packing the courts with partisan judges across the nation. Then they committed the ultimate sin, stealing a seat on the U.S. Supreme Court. That’s a Constitutional crisis.

Our president is a stupid man: but the people pulling his strings are not. His constant Twitter ranting is a toddler’s distraction. Mitch McConnell, Paul Ryan, and the deeply corrupt politicians who blindly follow them are executing a plan long in the making. When all is said and done, we will be an impoverished people unlike anything in recent memory.

We’re in big trouble, folks.

We don’t know all the players. There are many outside of government who are definitely involved in all of this. Donald wasn’t a mistake. He has an ally in Russia, who he has been working with secretly for years. The connections are unfathomable.

He controls our military and he largely has their loyalty. He’s empowered them to make operational decisions unheard of previously. You may think that assessment untrue, or too scary to believe. I hope you’ve been paying attention: everything I’ve said is verifiable.

He has given them incredible freedom, extending to them a trust you don’t often see this man give to anyone. Why has he done that? He lavishes them with praise. He micro-targets segments of our population. This is deliberate. It works. This is modern psychology.

Do not misunderstand me. I care deeply about our military men and women. If I were president, they would have the best care on earth. And I’m not suggesting a military coup. That’s a bridge much too far. But extreme civil unrest? How will this president handle that?

What happens if they manage to take away healthcare? How will the people react to that? Would this not string together a lot of pieces? And what if the National Guard must be called in? Would you not expect them to do their duty? They are not empowered as individuals.

This is important, but also the murkiest of what is going on. There are so many scenarios that are frighteningly possible right now. What if he starts a war with North Korea? How would the people react to this? You must see where this is going.

One way or another, we are likely to find ourselves in a conflict, either here or abroad, that lead us into uncharted territory. And we’re not prepared. If this happens tonight, or tomorrow, what could we possibly do?

It is not my goal to frighten you, only to remind you: we’re in an unprecedented crisis, right now, but we’re not acting like it. It is impossible to paint a picture like I just have — based entirely on known facts — and not see the dangers in the road ahead.

So here’s the part where you make a difference. You wake up tomorrow and you call your Democratic Representatives and Senators. You tell them you’re tired of living this way. You tell them you need to hear their voices — loudly and clearly and often. You tell them we’re not living in ordinary times and you want to hear that from them. You tell them to start speaking truth to power.

This is profoundly needed. Their voices are magnified in ways ours never will be. We can’t make a difference: but they sure as hell can. When they raise their voices, they magnify our own. They move us. They move others. We begin to motivate this country into action. I don’t believe we can do it without them. I know we can’t rely on Republicans. Their intentions are clear. I’ve shared them with you.

I’m not an expert on any of this. I’m just a guy who sees a horrible future, desperate to prevent it. And yet oddly hopeful also. Because I’m certain, as certain as I am the sun will rise tomorrow, that if the Democrats treat this like the emergency it is: we have a chance to move this country the same way South Korea or Romania has been moved in recent times. I’m certain of this.

This is an existential crisis. We cannot give the Republicans two or four years to radically alter the landscape of our country. We cannot do it. Look what they have accomplished in six months. What will our lives look like in another six months? Whether we want it or not, revolution is coming. It will be forced upon us. We must do everything we can to peacefully prevent that.

We need Democrats sounding the alarm — loudly and often — on foreign influence, voting machines, gerrymandering, dark money, etc. I’ve deliberately been non-specific about what you should be asking of Democrats, because I don’t need to be. Make it personal. Share your fears with them. Ask them to amplify your voice, because if they do, they will reach many others with those same fears.

They need to write op/eds in their local papers, sharing truth with their local stations. We need their voices to drown out Donald’s. Do you understand? It’s like a viral phenomenon. We don’t know where it will lead, but we can be pretty sure it leads somewhere better.